Our Tour

You can see the map straight away... here!.

FITNESS REQUIRED?

As you can see from the map, and as you will experience, it covers a relatively large portion of Central London. It will require quite an effort completing it, especially on foot. But cycling as well, as the amount of interesting places we are going to pass will require many stops, dismounting of the bicycle, putting it down in order to be able to move around, take pictures from different angles and stretch our legs... Do not be afraid, you don't need to be a fitness instructor to do the tout!.

The tour will last a whole day, bit we could split it in two days.

DISTRICTS AND SUBJECTS

We will be covering many districts: City of London, Spitalfields, Shoreditch, Hoxton, Clerkenwell, Holborn, the Inns of Court, Bankside...

And we will see many sights not necessarily linked to Shakespeare. I hope you are going to appreciate that this won't be a "Shakespeare Tour". It's going to be a London Tour with a certain Shakespeare twist. I bet you are going to enjoy our contemporary London atmospheres, the modern sleek skyscrapers of the City , hipsters and creatives districts, the street (food) markets, the charming, green, lawyers districts, the Thames bank... I we are going to have, I am sure, interesting exchanges about history, architecture, economy, social issues... whatever you dare to ask!. And you will have the chance of capturing amazing photos...

EXPLORE. DISCOVER. LEARN. ENJOY!

I hope this is going to give you a comprehensive knowledge of London. And I will try to conduct it in an informative way, rather than in an academic manner, as I am not an scholar, and the only thing I do as a tour guide is putting in your hands knowledge which I have collected, that has been deeply researched by the real scholars.

THE ROUte

Our route is going to take us through many districts of Central London. The 21rst century Central London. Back in the 16th century proper London was centred around the City. The rest of the districts were semi-rural areas, not densely populated, which were becoming the first London suburbs.

Modern Theatreland didn't even exist in Shakespeare's time.

However, Shakespeare knew and must have visited modern Westminster and Whitehall, and the Royal Court at St.James's.

In Elizabethan times, people talked about the Cities of London and Westminster. The rest, were "the Environs". Including South of the river Thames

Ideally our tour will start South of the river

BANKSIDE. Second London Theatreland. An industrialised area rediscovered for the leisure and tourist industry at the end of the 20th century.

Tate Modern. The former Bankside Power Station. Now, an arts museum.

Site of the Bear Gardens

Sites of the Elizabethan theatres and the Swan, the Rose, the Globe

The modern Shgakespeare's Globe, a awsome cultural centre created by the initiative of Sam Wanamaker.

Millenium Bridge. The "woobbly" one

Southwark Bridge. Not anymore the "Little Dorritt" Iron Bridge

The Anchor. Very Historic pub, with links to Drt.Johnson.

Site of the Clink Prison, part of the Bishop of Winchester Palace. Rests of the palaces's great hall

Drakes's Golden Hinde.

Borough Market. Originally a street market, Shakespeare might have know it. Now, a quality food market.

London Bridge. London's only bridge in Elizabethan times

Southwark Cathedral. A former nunnery, then a parish church. It contains many Shakespeare connections and memorials.

Southwark Bridge. "Little Dorrit" Iron Bridge.

CITY OF LONDON. Shakespeare's London. London proper. The Roman and medieval city.

Site of the Roman Temple of Mithras (inside the Bloomberg Centre)

Mansion House. This 18th building is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of the City.

Royal Exchange. An commodities market was set up barely 20 years before Shakespeare arrived in London

Bank of England. The UK Central Bank didn't exist in Elizabethan times

First London coffee house. Set up in 1652. We can say with almost surety that Shakespeare never had the chance to enjoya cup of coffee!

Site of the Cross Keys Inn. One of the licensed inns in London, to perform plays. Now in its place there is a Wetherspoon pub. That is cheap and cheerful!.

Eastern hub of skyscrapers: The Cheesegrater , the Gherkin, the Scalpel. Foster and Rogers, the great British architects will occupy our attention

Lloyd's of London Building. HQs of the premier Insurance market in the world.

Leadenhall Market. Shakespeare should have know the old medieval market market. It has in fact, certain Shakesperean connections. An enigmatic scientific hub -herbalists- was based in the area.

St. Helen's Church. The "Westminster Abbey" of the City is the nickname of this church due to the amount of memorials

Site of Shakespeare's dwellings. As a resident, Shakespeare left a certain amount of taxes unpaid to the parish authorities.

The Can of Ham building.

Bevis Marks.The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue.

Former East India Company warehouses. A huge complex owned by the company that monopolised the Indian trade.

Devonshire Square. Site of the "School of Poets"?

Spitalfields Market. Shakespeare must have visited the old market site and the old Spital (a priory that housed infirm and poor people) must have been in view, as the Dissolution of the Monasteries was very recent (1530s)

SHOREDITCH. Victorian industrial suburbs. Now creaitive districts and in the process of being gentrified.

Hog Lane. Site of a murder... (by Christopher Marlowe. Note this name)

Site of The Curtain. The second theatre, Now The Stage will offer an exhibition space very soon

Site of The Theatre. The first theatre. The Box Office will open, as well ,soon

Hoxton Square. The site of... another murder!. Here the murderer was Ben Jonson. Note his name, as well.

Site of Lord Mounteagle: here the letter announcing the Gunpowdwer Plot was received. Shakespeare's family have some relation with some of the conspirators.

Hoxton Street Market. A typical East End street market... gentrified. Now it is more about street food and speciality coffee shops. We are in the modern creative areas of London. Many actors live around by the way.

Circus Space. A former power station. See how they train!.

Methodist Landmark: John Wesley's house and chapel

Bunhill Fields. Graveyard of Noncomformists, Daniel Defoe was buried here. Methodists and other Noncomformist churches had not been fully developed in Shakespeare days. People would have talked about Puritans.

Whitecross Street Market. Again street food and espressos!

Site of Fortune Theatre. Henslowe and Alleyn were the competition!. They owned, as well, the Rose, beside the old Globe Theatre.

Fancy seeing a real BANKSY?

CLERKENWELL. Again, industrial suburbs, during the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Charterhouse. The French Chartreuse English branch, minus the spirit. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it became school and almshouses.Still is a residence for aged men and women.

Smithfield Market. Meat, poultry, cheeses... are sold here wholesale.

St. Bartholomew-the-Great Church.

Bart's Hospital. Dr.Harvey's hospital. And Dr.Watson's as well.

William Wallace Memorial.

St.John's Gate. From Hospitaliers headquarters, to Elizabethan age theatre censorshipo HQ, to Mr Hogarth coffee shop. Now its a museum (it is about St.John's Ambulance, as well)

Site of the Red Bull, an Elizabethan and Jacobean playhouse. I don't think Shakespeare acted here.

A 1930s little architectural jewel: The Finsbury health centre. Architect: Berthold Lubetkind

Exmouth Market. And again, street food and espressos

Mount Pleasant. A huge Post Office building. The old main distribution centre. The museum includes a ride on the Mail Rail

Leather Lane market. Again... Here ,though , we will finds some household goods and discounted clothing.

Hatton Garden; the diamonds district.

Ely Place. St. Ethelreda's Church. Shakespeare's connections!

The Mitre Pub.

HOLBORN. We are entering the Lawyers district.

The Staple Inn. A quasi-real 15th facade.

Grays Inn. The first of the Inns of Court that we are going to see in succession. The statue of Francis Bacon.

Lincolns' Inn. The second of the Inns. Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher were members.

Bell Yard ( "site" of Sweeney Todd' barbers shop)

The Royal Courts of Justice.

Temple Bar. The Strand joints Fleet Street. The boundary between the Cities of London and Westminster

CITY OF LONDON

The Temple. Inner and Middle Temple are the other two Inns of Court.

Site of the Whitefriars Playhouse

Site of the Salisbury Court Playhouse

"Fleet Street". The British press

Playhouse Yard: site of the two Blackfriars Playhouse

St.Bride Church. The Journalists' Church

Site of the Express newspapers

Site of the Daily Telegraph.

Site of Reuters.

St.Bride Institute.

The Cockpit Pub.

Site of the Blackfriars Gatehouse; the only property that Shakespeare purchased in London but never lived in. Catholic priests were housed here!

Site of the King's Wardrobe

Site of the Bell Inn: the letter than Shakespeare never received

The College of Arms: is the the coat of arms of William Shakespeare serious?

Millenium Bridge

St.Paul's Cathedral.

Bread Street. Site of the Mermaid Tavern: the Gunpowder Plot conspirators met here. Did Shakespeare attend the meetings of the Friday Club?

St.Mary-le-Bow Church

Site of the birthplace of Sir Thomas More

Jewry Street. Medieval Jewish quarter (until the end of the 13th c.)

Disraeli and Waterhouse.

Site of the Great Synagogue (up to 13th c).

Guildhall. The City of London local authority.

St.Lawrence Jewry

Memorial to Shakespeare's fellows Heminge and Condell. Gardens-former churchyard (you will find the church in Missoury!)

Site of the Roman Fort

Silver Street. Shakespeare's lodgings. A French Huguenot family wrangle.

Sites of Roman Wall & Gates

Site of St. Alphage Church. Medieval "Spital".